Container and blank therefor



Feb. 1, 1944. 'r. s, OKONSKI CONTAINER AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1941 INVENTOR M m m 0 S e w W m Patented Feb. 1, 1944 g CONTAINER AND BLANK THEREFOR Theodore S. Okonski, Wheeling, W. Va., assignor to The Consolidated Expanded Metal Companies, Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Application March 29, 1941, Serial No. 385,877

1 Claim. (c1. 206-60) This invention relates to a container and a blank therefor. It relates more particularly to a container in which goods are packed for shipment and which may be made of relatively stiff material such as corrugated paperboard, cardboard or similar material.

It is common to package various goods for shipment in corrugated paperboard or cardboard cartons. The cartons are reasonably satisfactory so long as they are not subjected to the al plication of substantial external forces such as are created in rough handling and piling. Cartons will withstand rough handling only to the limit of the compressive strength of the material ln the direction of its extent-that is to say, until the material crushes or tears. Crushing or tearing of the material results in making a hole in the carton which, of course, destroys th protection which it affords to its contents.

I provide a, container which affords superior protection to its contents because it is made flexible so that it will yield upon the application of substantial force during rough handling or upon piling, the yielding preventing rupturing, crushing or tearing of the container. Preferably the container is made out of a generally sheetlike blank with relatively foldable or hingedly joined portions and is adapted to be wrapped about its contents. It preferably has a reentrant portion contributing to its flexibility and also to the support of the contents of the container. The container is preferably maintained in proper relation to its contents by means extending thereabout and preferably bridging the reentrant portion and permitting resilient movement of the container when subjected to substantial externally applied compressive forces.

Purely for purposes of explanation and illustration I shall describe the invention as applied to an open-ended container of generally elongated shape adapted for the packaging of nested angular sections of metal lath, such sections being known as cornerite. It is customary to ship a number of nested sections of cornerite in a suitable container. Heretofore wooden boxes and corrugated paperboard cartons have been employed for the purpose. The wooden boxes are expensive and heavy. The cartons do not satisfactorily withstand rough usage incident to handling, piling, loading and unloading. My 1mproved container has been found in use to be eminently satisfactory. It thoroughly protects the cornerite while at the same time being yieldable upon the application of external forces so that it will absorb such forces in resilient manall) her rather than rupturing upon th application thereof.

. Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will becom apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

; In the accompanying drawing I have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention, in which a Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package comprising a number of nested strips of cornera ite packed in a container;

Figure 2 is an enlarged.transversecross-sectional view through the package shown in Figure 1; and.

Figure 3 is a view showing the blank which when applied to the nested cornerite strips forms the container.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, referenc numeral 2 designates strips of cornerite made of expanded metal lath. Each such strip consists of an elongated piece of lath bent at substantially right angles along it center line. Since the invention has to do with the container and the blank therefor and not with the structure of the contents of the container the cornerite strips are shown purely diagrammatically, no eifort being made to depict exactly the structure thereof. It is sufficient to say that the strips are assembled in nested relationship to form a preformed mass about which the container is applied. The mass is resilient to some extent.

Figure 3 shows the container blank which is preferably made of corrugated paperboard. The blank is formed out of a flat sheet of corrugated paperboard which is bent and partially cracked longitudinally to provide stiff hingedly connected portions, as shown. When the blank is applied to the nested cornerite strips it has opposed major faces 3 and 4, the face 3 having an inner end flap 5 connected therewith. The faces 3 and 4 are joined together by a pair of intermediate faces 6 and l which are joined together at 8 to form a reentrant portionthat is, a portion extending inwardly of the container. Opposed to the faces 6 and l are similar faces 9 and ID, the latter having an outside flap H joined thereto. As shown in Figure 3, all of the joints between the respective faces or portions of the blank point outwardly except the joint 8 between the faces 6 and I, which points inwardly. When the container is applied to the mass of nested cornerite strips the reentrant portion formed by the faces 6 and l enters the correspondingly shaped portion of the mass of cornerite and the faces 9 and Ill come together in a point over the pointed end of the mass of cornerite. The major faces 3 and 4 lie along the edges of the cornerite strips, as shown. The inner flap 5 extends part way from the edges of the cornerite strips toward the apex of the mass to avoid the possibility that edges of any of the strips will catch on the edge of the container. When the container is closed the outside flap ll lies along the face 3.

After the container is applied to the mass of cornerite strips and the flap H is closed one or more bands l2, preferably of fiatrnetal, is or are applied to extend about the container and maintain it in proper relationship to its contents, as shown in Figure l. Th bands l2 bridge the reentrant portion of the container. The ends of the bands are fastened together by any suitable fastening means l3. The container is open at its ends and preferably overlaps the ends of the cornerite strips a short distance at each end, as shown in Figure l.

The container is flexible or yieldable under the action of forces externally applied during handling, piling, loading and unloading. If, for example, a heavy weight is dropped upon the top of the filled container when it is in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 it will yield to some extent, and then spring back when the load is removed. The yielding is permitted by reason of the shape of the container and also by the bands 12 which bridge the reentrant portion formed by the faces 6 and 1. The container fully protects the strips of cornerite which are packed therein and forms an inexpensive and economical means of packing and shipping such products.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A package comprising contents of a plurality of nested flexible elongated members of generally L shaped cross-section, said contents having three projecting portions, one at the angle of the outermost member and the other two at the extremities of the legs of the innermost member, the lattertwo projecting portions being spaced apart so that the contents has an entrant space therebetween, a flexible wrapper wrapped about the nested members so as to at least largely surround them intermediate their ends, the wrapper having a deeply entrant portion extending into said entrant space and lying along the legs of the innermost member, the material of the entrant portion of the wrapper being of sufficient stiffness to maintain such portion as an entrant portion when the package is handled, the wrapper also having a projecting portion covering the first mentioned projecting portion of the contents, the wrapper being yieldable under forces imposed upon handling of the package and flexing of said members, and means holding the wrapper against unwrapping after it is applied to the contents.

THEODORE S. OKONSKI. 

